EP455: Leslee Hickerson - How Niche Expertise Transforms Bookkeeping Businesses

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Leslee Hickerson has never let not knowing something stop her. From learning swim-club bookkeeping on the job to walking into a law firm with one day of software training, she has built a career by leaning into unfamiliar territory and documenting everything she learned along the way. In this episode, Leslee walks Michael through the winding road that led her to incorporate Magwa Consulting, niche into legal bookkeeping, and then niche again — this time into law-firm software conversions.

Chapters

• [00:00] Introduction and Early Background
• [02:22] How Bookkeeping Became a Business
• [05:30] COVID Disruption and Joining Pure
• [09:30] Rebuilding and Entering Legal Niche
• [15:00] Discovering the Ultra Niche
• [19:00] The One-and-Done Conversion Model
• [22:00] Accelerate to Advisor Journey
• [27:00] Imposter Syndrome and Taking Risks
• [32:00] Certification, Community, and Giving Back

From Side Hustle to Serious Business

Leslee's bookkeeping career started because her kids joined a swim club and the board needed someone to handle the books. What began as a volunteer role became a 13-year engagement with a strata corporation, where she developed value pricing, workflows, and board-level reporting — before she even had names for any of those things. "I did better if I haven't got a clue what I'm into," she says. "Nobody told me I couldn't do it, so I just did." When COVID ended that contract, she was left rebuilding from scratch.

Niching Into Legal — Then Niching Again

A chance encounter at a law firm in 2012 introduced Leslee to the legal world. Years later, after joining Pure Bookkeeping and Mark Wickersham's program, she returned to that niche with intention. A move to cloud-based legal accounting software sent her down a path to becoming an independent consultant — and then to what she calls an "ultra niche": converting law firms from legacy desktop software to modern cloud platforms. "I can answer their questions before they've even thought of them," she says of the confidence that comes with deep specialization. The idea to narrow even further came from a fellow Pure member: become so good at one section of a niche that you become the go-to expert in that slice.

The One-and-Done Model

Rather than building a large roster of ongoing compliance clients, Leslee's consulting work follows a project model. She takes a firm through the full conversion process — migrating data, ensuring compliance, and training the team — then moves on. Solo lawyers in particular, she notes, often don't need ongoing bookkeeping help once they're set up correctly on the right software. Smaller conversions are where she now focuses: "I can do the conversion, get them on their way, and move on in six weeks." More recently, she has stepped back from large firm projects, trading higher fees for lower complexity and fewer personalities to manage.

Community, Certification, and Confidence

Leslee credits the bookkeeping community — Pure Bookkeeping, the Accelerate to Advisor program, and CPB Canada — with transforming how she sees her work and herself. She attended the Accelerate to Advisor masterclass seven or eight times before finally joining the full program, and she describes the small-cohort accountability as a direct antidote to imposter syndrome. Her advice to Canadian bookkeepers is clear: "Join CPB Canada, get yourself certified. Your confidence is going to grow." She also points out that one online course does not make a bookkeeper — clients' livelihoods depend on real knowledge and experience.

Giving Back and What's Next

Looking ahead, Leslee is scaling back compliance work and plans to invest more time in her Indigenous community. She is Métis, and her business name — Magwa Consulting — comes from the Cree word for moon. As she transitions, she carries forward the same philosophy that has guided her entire career: be willing to learn, never make the same mistake twice, and take the risk. "If you're not going to take risk, you may as well just bubble wrap yourself and sit on the sofa."

Links Mentioned

• Pure Bookkeeping
• The Successful Bookkeeper
• CPB Canada (Certified Professional Bookkeepers of Canada)
• Mark Wickersham's Value Pricing Program
• The E-Myth by Michael Gerber
• Accelerate to Advisor (A2A) Mastermind Program

About the Guest

Leslee Hickerson is the founder of Magwa Consulting, based in British Columbia, Canada. A Métis entrepreneur and Pure Bookkeeping licensee, she specializes in cloud-based software conversions for law firms. With a background spanning strata management, legal bookkeeping, and value pricing, Leslee brings deep expertise and a passion for community to everything she does.